Watch For Wildlife When You're Behind The Wheel

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Watch For Wildlife When You're Behind The Wheel

McGuinty Government Urges Drivers To Stay Safe

Fall brings beautiful autumn colours and more wildlife onto Ontario's roads - and a need for drivers to be extra vigilant.

On average there are 14,000 vehicle/wildlife collisions in Ontario per year - that's one every 37 minutes. Eighty-three per cent of these collisions happen on two-lane roads outside of urban areas. Most wildlife collisions occur during dusk or dawn, with 87 per cent occurring in good weather.

Quotes

“Wild animals are unpredictable and if we can reduce collisions by simply exercising greater caution, more people will get home to their families without incident.”

Jim Bradley

Minister of Transportation

“This is a real issue for the OPP. The Elgin OPP detachment, for example, investigated 280 deer/vehicle collisions in 2007. This year there have been 140 deer/vehicle collisions and we're just approaching the peak season where deer and other animals wander onto roads.”